Stories from George Washington's Ferry Farm and Historic Kenmore

We Really Dig History!: This Summer’s Excavations at Ferry Farm

Archaeological excavations at George Washington’s Ferry Farm have occurred nearly every summer since The George Washington Foundation purchased the property in 1996. The summer of 2017, when the majority of the replica Washington house construction was underway, was the major exception. The archaeological site was proved too close to ongoing construction so excavations were put on hold until the summer of 2018.

This year, a five person crew consisting of a field director Steve Lenik, assistant field director Elyse Adams, and interns Reagan Andersen, Cheyenne Johnson, and Aileen Kelly worked from April to July on the Ferry Farm property. For five weeks, an additional seven students from Georgia Southern University and the University of South Florida came to Ferry Farm for a field school, to learn the basics of excavation and lab work.

The North Yard

We investigated two areas. The first, an area at the crest of the ridge to the north of the replica house, was the North Yard. This yard lies between the Washington House and a slave quarter that was completely excavated in previous years. The purpose of digging in this area was to find evidence about who controlled this space. Was it the domain of those who lived in the Washington House or of the enslaved population who lived in the quarter?

Excavations are not yet complete in this area, but we discovered that this space was relatively clean compared to the Work Yard and areas immediately behind the Washington house, where a lot of trash and debris from daily 18th century activities were found during past excavations. The lack of trash and debris in the North Yard was likely because, in colonial times, this was part of the property visible from Fredericksburg and therefore was well-kept A public space like this one would have likely fallen under the control of those who lived in the Washington house.

Field school students excavating the North Yard.

We were also looking for evidence of any other outbuildings and gardens, in order to accurately recreate the landscape of the farm as it was in the 1700s. We discovered evidence of large trees that lived on the landscape during the 18th century in this area. This discovery will allow archaeologists to look even closer into the use of this space with the goal of re-creating it as it was in the time of the Washingtons.

The Work Yard

The second area we investigated during this summer’s dig was behind the Washington house in the Work Yard, which is exactly what it sounds like—a space for work to be done on a farm in the 1700s. This space is special to our research here at Ferry Farm. Much of this space was excavated already in past years, yielded a treasure trove of artifacts and information, and was then filled back in once excavations were complete.

One small area just behind the house was left to excavate, however, and that’s where we worked this summer. We discovered large stains in the soil, very deep in the ground. They were made during the colonial era but, as yet, we do not know why. This area was originally thought to be a cellar, but as excavations continued, we began to notice a series of pits instead. Analysis is still ongoing and artifacts excavated in this space are still being processed so we don’t have answers to any of our questions yet.

Field crew exposing the large soil stain of possible cellar at the start of the 2018 excavations.

Final photo of the Work Yard pits at the end of the 2018 excavations.

Nevertheless, our minds were racing with possible explanations of these pits and we couldn’t help but wonder if they were somehow related to Ferry Farm’s collection of at least 215 wig curlers—very unusual finds for a Virginia farm—that were excavated above or around this space.

It’s far too soon to tell, we don’t have any complete answers, and we still aren’t finished excavating the Work Yard, but this area already is proving important to the Ferry Farm story. Once we understand the landscape and complete the Work Yard excavations, the 18th century outbuildings that have been identified and that once stood in this space will be replicated just like the main house.

Future excavations will continue to yield the information we need to replicate the entire boyhood landscape of George Washington’s home. Every bit of information, no matter how small the tree root or how tiny the artifact, is pertinent to the understanding and accurate interpretation of this important landscape, and to understanding the lives of all who have lived and worked here. We look forward to many more years of discovery, and many more summers of digging into the history of the Washington Farm.